A site that the average small business owner may regard as a potential friend has managed to make a couple of enemies. A new class action suit claims that Yelp tried to demand money from a veterinary hospital in exchange for making the business's reviews page look better.
As explained in a formal statement, "The lawsuit alleges that Yelp runs an extortion scheme in which the company's employees call businesses demanding monthly payments, in the guise of 'advertising contracts,' in exchange for removing or modifying negative reviews appearing on the website."
So now Beck & Lee Business Trial Lawyers and The Weston Firm are representing the veterinary hospital, and they're also encouraging other small businesses that have had similar experiences to contact them.
Hopefully the matter will be settled one way or the other soon. If Yelp is extorting small businesses, the practice should be stopped. But if it isn't, that also needs to be decided in order for users to trust the site and small businesses that have earned good reviews.
This case will be tried in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California as Cats and Dogs Animal Hospital Inc. v. Yelp Inc.
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Potential Friend?
Yelp could also be a potential enemy, not just because of the alleged extortion, but some customers just use it as a complaint area whether it warrants it or not. No matter good or bad, I would take these types of reviews with caution considering sources of the review and the information they provide.
I WISH I COULD BE PART OF THE SUIT
(Y)elp sent around a spy to write a scathing article about my store, just so they could get me to join and solicit my customers to review me on their site to "decrease" the severity of the rotten review. One thing that pointed out the strong arm tactic was that the reviewer had 847 reviews. It would take someone doing a full time job to post so many. Also, when I dared question (Y)elp about their activites, I was given a mafioso response. These are dangerous activities and concerning trends to a small business in a small neighborhood. Interested parties may contact me for more information. Allen Dodson at google dot com.
Class Action Suit Filed
It must be the season for litigation. Two class action law firms have filed suit in Los Angeles federal court claiming that Yelp has attempted to “extort” money from small businesses by offering to remove negative reviews in exchange for payment.
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